BioWare's new game is Command & Conquer Generals 2

I don't have much to say. I had no problems with the first one but I found it lacking personality. I rather play a new Red Alert or better yet a C&C 4 remake. Just remember its a different studio that EA labeled with the Bioware brand.

-- "If I've ever offended you, just know that from the bottom of my heart, I really don't give a shit."

Pity it had to be Generals. Like the OP I'd rather seen a new C&C4 that really was C&C.

I'm not concerned about the fact that Bioware does it, though. Although I'd prefer the Westwood (RIP) guys of old making that game, I couldn't care less if Bioware, Bethesda or Uncle Bertie from Gloucester did it instead as long as the result was C&C in feel and spirit.

Oh, and now that they're busily unearthing Westwood's remains, they should take a gene sample of the LoL franchise as well. I'd be perfectly happy with a CGI version of Paul Bastardo.

There is speculation it might use the battlefield setting but its still to early to say. The studio who is developing the game is called Victory Games. They announced earlier this year there would be more C&C games.

I hope the sequel will get a story with cut scenes at least. The original was just you fighting one battle after another. It didn't fit the C&C mold as the rest of the series.

At least some of the Westwood employees are still making rts games. They have a MMORTS game called End of Nations developed by Petroglyph.

Also there using Bioware's name because if anybody recalls its a brand name now. There was a article a few months back explaining how EA would expand the brand.
Basically it means cash in on the name.

EA Starts New Strategy Studio: Victory Games

Eric, Global C&C Community Manager, interviews Jon Van Caneghem, Vice President Strategy Games. Jon joined Electronic Arts in 2009 after nearly three decades in the electronic entertainment industry. He is renowned for founding New World Computing and creating the best-selling franchises Heroes and Might & Magic.

Eric: I am here with Jon Van Caneghem, the GM of Victory Games. Today you announced the name of your new studio as Victory Games – can you talk about what that means?

JVC: Sure. Victory Games was created to be the focal point for the creation of strategy games for the Games Label at EA. Our current focus is making a AAA Command & Conquer game, which I am very excited to be working on. I’ve always been a big Command & Conquer fan.

Eric: A new Command & Conquer game? What can you tell me about it?

JVC: I can tell you it’s a Command & Conquer game for the PC, but we’re not yet at a stage where I can go into any details—we’ll be prepared to make a more formal announcement later in the year. We’re not just working on a game, though. Our general focus is on the future of Command & Conquer. That means updating a lot of the core technology to create a stable base for future development, and leveraging that work on this first game.

Eric: Sounds like you’re very busy, and I’m looking forward to that announcement. Back to the studio, why “Victory Games?”

JVC: The initial idea came from the obvious parallel of winning in a strategy game, where the word “Victory” often ends up on your screen. The reason I think it fits so well is when you look at how to be successful in strategy games: it’s the ability to anticipate, plan, and react. This is no different when it comes to the gaming industry – you must anticipate the direction of the genre and marketplace, plan for what the consumers are looking for, and stay nimble enough to react to environmental changes.

Eric: Where is Victory Games located?

JVC: We have offices in Los Angeles, CA; Austin, TX; and Shanghai, China. It almost feels like one location though, as we have video conferencing systems setup 24/7 which offers us a stronger and more personal level of communication between offices.

Eric: You re-launched the Command & Conquer website today – can you talk about that?

JVC: Yes, you will notice a few key upgrades on www.commandandconquer.com today. We’ve got a new look and feel, new and improved forums, and a much cleaner interface. Luckily we’ve hired a talented new community manager to help support all of these initiatives.

Eric: Why thank you! What else can you tell us about the people behind Victory Games?

JVC: We’ve put together a team made up of some of the best talent from previous Command & Conquer games along with a great mix of quality industry veterans. Everyone that we’ve brought on board is very passionate about making strategy games.

Eric: That sounds great. What strategy games do you play?

JVC: I play almost every strategy game that comes out, with the two most recent games being Civilization V and Starcraft 2. I still have all the Command & Conquer and Heroes of Might and Magic games on my machine and play them regularly as well.

Eric: What’s your favorite Command & Conquer memory?

JVC: The original Command & Conquer released the same month as the original Heroes of Might and Magic game that I created at New World Computing. Right after we shipped Heroes, we were hard at work getting a Win95 version ready. We were also starting work on Heroes II, but every day work stopped a little bit earlier and earlier and earlier as everyone was jumping into LAN games of Command & Conquer. After months of working on a game that featured classical music and fantasy sound effects, it was an experience to have the office filled with the sounds of combat, explosions, and “Got a present for ya!” That’s what makes this so exciting for me, to appreciate the franchise as both a game maker and a game player and to have the opportunity to bring back the magic that made the Command & Conquer games so great over the last fifteen years.

Eric: In closing, do you have anything you’d like to say to the fans?

JVC: Absolutely! I want the fans to know that Victory Games is committed to bringing Command & Conquer back to the forefront for the next ten years and beyond. We’ll be announcing our first new game later this year, check out www.commandandconquer.com for new updates and information!

-- "If I've ever offended you, just know that from the bottom of my heart, I really don't give a shit."

So they basically just renamed Victory Games as Bioware, and presented their work as a Bioware game. That is just dumb. I just don't get the logic. I can somewhat see the logic behind making Bioware a RPG Brand… but C&C does not belong there.

*sighs* Why Generals? C&C generals is to date the only game I've quit playing due to offensive stereotyping. You often see Arabs being portrayed as mindless terrorists in games & movies, something that I'm not particularly fond of, as it is just feeding peoples prejudice, but I thought that C&CG was more distasteful than most in this regard.

Originally Posted by Nithrakis
The BioWare name is now, officially, worth nothing.

I said this in my Op Ed a year ago when I foresaw this. To me not surprising just seeing what I said would happen come to be. I am surprised however how many CRPGers are shocked EA wouldn't whore and rape bioware out like this. Using their track history after they buy up a studio this wishful thinking this wouldn't happen to Bioware was simply setting yourself up for disappointment IMO.

Obsidian & Beth are the last good indie CRPG studios in north America that has a chance to keep delivering solid CRPGs going forward. M2C

Originally Posted by Harlequin
Actually EA is going to use them to brand their own line of condoms first… then coffee.. just saying.

There is actually a BioWare that produces plastic disposable cups. At least, they were using cups with BioWare printed on it at a music festival I go to most years (Graspop in Belgium for those interested).

There might be rights issues tied to Dune. And it is possible that right holders would want a game that ties into the new(er) books, and to be frank, I would rather have no game based on the works by Brian Herbert than anything that would soil Dune's good name even more (I'm not a fan of Brian Herbert's work on Dune. His first prequel trilogy was not horrible, but it did many of the same mistakes as Star Wars episode 1: it tried to shoehorn explanations for EVERYTHING that was going on in the later parts, and explain the origin of EVERYONE, plus it was rather juvenile at points, the Butlarian Jihad books on the other hand were horrendous, utter garbage. 2d characters, thin plot, way too much padding…).

Originally Posted by Fnord
There might be rights issues tied to Dune. And it is possible that right holders would want a game that ties into the new(er) books, and to be frank, I would rather have no game based on the works by Brian Herbert than anything that would soil Dune's good name even more (I'm not a fan of Brian Herbert's work on Dune. His first prequel trilogy was not horrible, but it did many of the same mistakes as Star Wars episode 1: it tried to shoehorn explanations for EVERYTHING that was going on in the later parts, and explain the origin of EVERYONE, plus it was rather juvenile at points, the Butlarian Jihad books on the other hand were horrendous, utter garbage. 2d characters, thin plot, way too much padding…).

I couldn't agree more. My concern is the series never wants to end. There is always another prequel or filler story.

-- "If I've ever offended you, just know that from the bottom of my heart, I really don't give a shit."

I've been looking forward to a new game of this sort, for MP purposes.

Names don't mean much to me, especially not in the business world - where they're used as a means to maximise profit more than anything else.

So, I don't personally care what name they slap on the game - as it's about the people working on it - and how they approach the design. I don't know what people are under this new name - so I have no information to base any pre-disposition on.

But it smells like an EA/Bio business thing, which means the game will likely be developed with profit higher on the list than great design - so I can't say I much care about whole thing.

But C&C G was great fun as a fast-paced simplistic MP RTS. It could stand an upgrade, for sure